Traffic-Light Labels and Choice Architecture

Promoting Healthy Food Choices

Hospital cafeteria patrons make healthy choices again and again when given easily understood information about food offerings.

The Issue:

Food signs that clearly communicate which foods are healthy and which are not in workplace cafeterias have the potential to influence customers’ purchases over time. A large hospital cafeteria provided the environment to test the impact of traffic-light signs (green indicating a healthy choice, yellow less healthy, and red unhealthy) and of locating healthy foods more conveniently (choice architecture).

Key Findings

Purchases of all red items decreased from 24 percent at baseline to 21 percent at 12 months, and remained at 21 percent at the 24-month follow-up.

Purchases of all green items increased from 41 percent at baseline to 45 percent at 12 months and 46 percent at 24 months.

Purchases of red beverages decreased from 27 percent at baseline to 17 percent at 12 months and 18 percent at 24 months.

Purchases of green beverages increased from 52 percent to 59 percent at 12 months and 60 percent at 24 months.

Repeat customers (at least 10 purchases every 3-month period) and less frequent users (no purchase made) had similar changes in green and red purchases at the 24-month follow-up.

Conclusions:

Simple food environment interventions can change food/beverage purchasing behaviors over a sustained period without decreasing sales.

About the Study:

Researchers analyzed transactions for all customers and for a longitudinal cohort of 2,285 Massachusetts General Hospital employees who regularly used the cafeteria. The traffic-light labeling system was based on U.S. Department of Agriculture dietary recommendations.